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Alumni in Action
DR. HANS HARMAKAPUTRA ’13 RETURNS AS VISITING ASSISTANT PROFESSOR
Hartford Seminary welcomed Dr.HansHarmakaputra '13 back as Visiting Assistant Professor in Comparative Theology and MuslimChristian Relations through The Louisville Institute’s post-doctoral program. Born and raised in Indonesia as a Chinese-Indonesian Christian, Dr. Harmakaputra experienced both religious and cultural diversity that shaped his understanding of the intersection between faith, religion, and politics. Earning his theological degree from Jakarta Theological Seminary in 2010, he then traveled to the United States to study at Hartford Seminary to learn more about interreligious relations and peacebuilding. He developed his interest in Islam and Muslim communities at Hartford Seminary both from inside and outside the classroom and obtained an M.A. in Islamic studies and ChristianMuslim Relations in 2013. His next step was to enter the Ph.D. program in Comparative Theology at Boston College. Dr. Harmakaputra has authored many articles and book chapters, both in English and Bahasa Indonesia, on topics related to his research interests. His newest article, appearing soon inThe Muslim World,is titled, "Say 'No' to Christmas? An Analysis of the Islamic Fatwa on the Prohibition of Wearing Non-Muslim’s Attributes in Indonesia."
TRUSTEE JEAN AMOS LYS ’12 FEATURED IN ‘FATHERHOOD MANOLOGUES’ PROJECT
Trustee Jean Amos Lys, who earned an MA from Hartford Seminary in 2012 and graduated from the Black Ministries Program in 2008, was one of nine featured participants in "Fatherhood Manologues," a project of The Manhood Tree initiative.
The "Fatherhood Manologues" project is part of an effort to "highlight the importance, value and contributions of African American fathers through their involvement and presence in their children’s lives." The project was developed by Abdul-Rahmaan Muhammad, executive director of My People Clinical Services in Hartford.
"I’m all about changing narratives, like I want people to be able to see Black men fully, not only when we die, not only when we’re mad, not only when we are in handcuffs, but when we are being our genuine true selves, when we are talking about the love of our lives, like our children," Muhammad said. The initiative is now part of a yearlong project at the University of Saint Joseph.
K.L. MARSHALL RECENT GRADUATE WRITES BOOK ON ALASKA PIPELINE, RELIGIOUS RIGHT
A recent graduate who is now a Ph.D. candidate abroad has a new book out from Resource Publications calledFaith and Oil: How the Alaska Pipeline Shaped America’s Religious Right.
The book was written under the pen name K.L. Marshall. Due to the nature of some of the research, this recent graduate has asked Hartford Seminary not to disclose their name.
According to the publisher, "Faith and Oiltells the story of conservative Christianity’s relationship with America’s oil industry. It shows how the libertarian values of big oil companies—such as government deregulation of business practices and curbing laws that protect the environment—became embedded within the theologies of the Religious Right. These theologies of oil later found their being in the public consciousness through the rise of Sarah Palin and led to the election of Donald Trump."
Hartford Seminary and Trinity College were the co-hosts for the annual conference of the National Association of College and University Chaplains, which ran from Feb. 10-12 at various locations in Hartford, CT. The conference theme was "The Place & Purpose of Chaplaincy in Higher Education." About 150 chaplains from across the country – including many Hartford Seminary alums – attended the conference, which featured talks and workshops on topics such as "Postmillennials and Religion," and "Building Resilience in Students and in Ourselves." President Joel N. Lohr and Dr. Ingrid Mattson, who founded the Seminary’s Islamic Chaplaincy Program in 2001 and was the first woman president of the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA), both gave plenary talks. During her visit, Dr. Mattson also spoke to an enthusiastic group of Hartford Seminary students, alumni, Trustees, staff, and faculty at a dinner held at the Budd Interfaith Building.
CANDACE LOWE '18 HARTFORD SEMINARY ALUM DEVELOPS PROGRAMS ON THE RIGHTS OF THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY
Members of the disability community, faith leaders, and Hartford Seminary alums, staff, faculty, and students gathered twice this year under the leadership of Candace Low '18, a consultant on inclusion and accessibility. The first program was "Inclusive Voices: Welcoming People with Disabilities", a joint interfaith conference of Hartford Seminary and the UConn Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. This spring, we held a "A Quiet Call for Justice: Standing Up for the Disability Community." The program was both a service to mourn those lost to filicide, police shootings, and insurance rationing, and a call for justice.
OMER BAJWA '10 EXPERT MEDIA RESOURCE
In Spring 2020, Imam Omer Bajwa, an alum who is the Muslim Chaplain at Yale University, became a frequent media guest on the topic of building community online and getting through Ramadan without face to face meetings. His message about Ramadan was a hopeful one. "Isn’t there something to be said to prayer at home with my family? And to do that regularly over the course of the month: to pray and reflect and meditate at home? To think about who I am, what’s my place in the world, and what I am doing?" he said. "These are deeper questions that Ramadan is supposed to be asking us." MEGAN STROUSE '20 & AMBER HAI HARTFORD SEMINARY ARTWORK DISPLAYED IN JCC ‘WELCOMING THE STRANGER’ GALLERY SHOW
Tasked with creating an original piece of art with the theme "Under One Roof: Welcoming the Stranger," recent graduate Megan Strouse '20 and student Amber Hai looked to Hartford Seminary’s core values for inspiration. "In this project," the two wrote in their artists' statement, "we wanted to depict the three Abrahamic faiths' traditions to represent the mission of Hartford Seminary, which is to cultivate healthy communities and conversation while exploring differences and deepening faith." The result was a stunning display of three books of faith on a canvas wrapped with newspaper articles depicting recent stories of both devastation and hope. Interspersed on the canvas are shards of mirror that pull viewers into the canvas itself, making them part of the art. The project was part of a collaborative art exhibit organized by the Mandell Jewish Community Center in West Hartford. The JCC asked 45 Hartford area organizations to contribute a canvas showing a unique perspective on the theme of "Welcoming the Stranger" and invited the public to view the results.
His peacemaking activities are almost too numerous to mention but include facilitating dialogues and promoting interfaith cooperation among many groups in the Muslim-majority country. In addition, the Rev. Manuputty works on eco-justice issues. A project named #SaveAru “forced the Indonesian government to abort its economic plan on the island,” his nominators said.
The Rev. Manuputty is nationally known as an interfaith leader in Indonesia. He was theAssistant to the Special Envoy of thePresident for Dialogue, Interfaith Cooperation and Civilization (2017-2019), andwas elected to be the General Secretary of Council of Churches in Indonesia(2019-present). Hartford Seminary plans to present the Honorary Doctor of Divinity at the 2021 graduation.
THE REV. JACKLEVYN FRITS MANUPUTTY '11 TO RECEIVE HONORARY DOCTOR OF DIVINITY
Hartford Seminary’s Board of Trustees has voted to present the Rev. Jacklevyn Frits Manuputty ’11, a graduate of Hartford Seminary’s International Peacemaking Program and its Master of Arts program, with an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree. The Rev. Manuputty — known to many as Jacky — was nominated by a group of fellow alumni from Indonesia. In their nomination letter, they cited the Rev. Manuputty’s work as the co-founder of the Maluku Interfaith Institution for Humanitarian Action in Indonesia, which “creates institutional capacity-building programs, developspositive public discourse, and builds a network of pluralistic conflict preventionobservers.”
They go on to say: “Along with hiscolleagues, he has developed a peace curriculum, an interfaith peace sermonprogram, and a trauma-healing program. When violence flared in Indonesia in2011, Rev. Jacky worked to form groups of youth ‘Peace Provocateurs,’ whosesocial media campaigns were widely recognized for their success in limiting thescope of the conflicts and preventing them from spreading.”
REV. DR. CHRIS ANTAL '17 VA CONDUCTS MOVING CLERGY TRAINING PROGRAM AT HARTFORD SEMINARY
A two-day Veterans Health Administration training program that took place at Hartford Seminary in early March had many practical components, but it was the emotional aspects of connecting with Veterans that made it so powerful for the more than 30 clergy, faith leaders, and Seminary students who attended. The VA Community Clergy Training Program (CCTP) was organized by the Rev. Dr. Chris Antal, who is a VA chaplain, a Veteran, and earned his Doctor of Ministry at Hartford Seminary (2017). A team of trainers included three other VA staff who are also Veterans, Chaplain James Parnell, Chaplain Rotunda East, and Ben Kaler, as well as Veteran and guest speaker Leroy Enck.
They joined the Rev. Dr. Antal to speak to the Veteran’s experience, and share about different aspects of working with Veterans who come to congregations and their faith leaders for support. The intent was to provide clergy with information about readjustment difficulties and unique health issues such as post-traumatic stress, depression, and moral injury.
CHAPLAIN TRICIA PETHIC ’19 RUNS MUSLIM PRISONER PROJECT
Chaplain Tricia Pethic, who earned an MA from Hartford Seminary in 2017 and a Graduate Certificate in Islamic Chaplaincy in 2019, has launched a nonprofit called Muslim Prisoner Project and serves as its CEO. Chaplain Pethic worked as a prison chaplain in Danbury, CT, and Albion, NY, and that experience gave her the idea for Muslim Prisoner Project, started in 2017 and given nonprofit status in 2019. The organization assists Muslim prisoners in several different ways. One is to help inmates connect with their children by providing gifts twice a year through the Eid Toy Chest program. The project also “aims to empower the inmate him/herself through providing quality Islamic literature that they would otherwise not have access to” through the Malcolm X Book Drive.
“Muslim Prisoner Project is the fruit of my experience as a former New York State prison chaplain who saw how the Muslim community was lagging behind other religious groups in their ministry to incarcerated people of their faith,” Chaplain Pethic said. “Inmates wouldreport to me that they would write mosques for information and assistance and often receive no reply. They also wanted a regular source of literature, similar toLoaves and Fishesand theDaily Breadwhich other groups publish for an inmate audience. We aim to serve not only Muslims in state and federal prisons, but also mosques that don’t have a dedicated person to respond to inmate mail or a dedicated volunteer to visit incarcerated Muslims.” At this time Eid Toy Chest is mostly limited to New York State, but Muslim Prisoner Project fields inquiries from prison chaplains and inmates all over the country, aiming to respond to each inquiry “as best we can whether with responses to religious questions, providing books, or giving general moral support.” The organization, the first of its kind in the country in terms of a Muslim version of Angel Tree, is endorsed by many Muslim leaders including Dr. Ingrid Mattson, Imam Zaid Shakir, and more.
KHALIL ABDULLAH ’19
BRINGS HIS SKILLS TO DARTMOUTH COLLEGE
For a decade, Khalil Abdullah, MA '19, worked as the manager of a Starbucks and a regional trainer for Barnes and Noble. He devoted himself to coffee and customer service, calling it his ministry. Through the world of coffee, Abdullah found a way he could serve, teach, and care for people. "I was a leader," Abdullah said, "and working with something I was passionate about and drank a lot of."
Along the way, this ministry led him to pursue further education at Hartford Seminary, where he graduated in 2019 with a Master of Arts in Religious Studies with a focus in Islamic Studies and Christian-Muslim Relations. But even before graduation, Dartmouth College hired him as its Muslim Advisor, making him one in a long line of Hartford Seminary graduates to land at the nation’s most prominent colleges and universities in a chaplaincy or advisory role. Abdullah was born to a Christian, bi-racial family in Texas, only a few years after interracial marriage was legal in the United States. As a mixed-race child, he had the foundation to push the boundaries of social norms. "I've always carried that with me," he said, "that I could be different." In the early 1990s, rappers such as Ice Cube and Busta Rhymes spoke about their own conversion to Islam through lyrics in their songs. “There was a political component, an idea and conversation around race, politics, and religion that made my spiritual journey as a teenager a very accessible thing.” When he was a sophomore in college, Abdullah converted to Islam. From there, he was involved with many mosques, and belonged to an African American Muslim community associated with Imam W.D. Mohammed. Abdullah worked as a school teacher in both public and private schools in Texas and Georgia before working for Starbucks and Barnes and Noble. After deciding to pursue his graduate degree, Abdullah worked at Hartford Seminary as its Major Gifts Officer, with responsibility for Islamic Giving. He recalls experiences while holding this position that exposed him to the needs of community and chaplaincy. When he traveled to Texas to introduce the Seminary’s Graduate Certificate in Muslim Community Leadership, for example, he saw the urgency for Muslim Chaplaincy in hospitals. “The closeness of Christian and Muslim engagement made Hartford Seminary the perfect place for me.” Abdullah said. “I was able to be at the Seminary and form relationships with people I can call friends, who are successful chaplains that are mentors to me.” At Dartmouth College, Abdullah creates a sense of community and belonging among students, particularly Muslim students. He now also serves as an interim Multifaith Advisor. He connects with students, not only to discuss differences, but to help them create a deeper understanding of themselves. “There are moments when we can eat together, share a meal together, go to a football game, walk a trail, and spend time together.” Muslim students often feel the need to explain themselves, and Abdullah teaches students, many who haven’t known a world without 9/11, not to lose themselves in what others or the media say. "Hartford Seminary has played a big part in that I’m able to be a certain way, speak a certain language, I can listen with empathy or sensitivity that doesn’t come with any religious label, but really goes at the core of what it means to be human."
